


Tell me some things last

by empvthy



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a happy ending???, Character Study, Discussion of Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, It ends on a nice note though i promise, Just Some Comfort, Keito and Kuro bond over dead/dying loved ones, No Plot/Plotless, i have no idea how to tag this, that's pretty much it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:53:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28401219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/empvthy/pseuds/empvthy
Summary: "Why can't you just be mad at me for acting so foolishly all this time...?" he asked after a pause, voice small and desperate, still unable to understand just what it was that made Kuro - and Souma, for that matter - remain a part of Akatsuki under Keito's lead."Because I know what it's like when you'd do anything to save someone dear to you who's dying," Kuro admits truthfully after a while.OREichi has been hospitalized again, Keito worries and Kuro talks to him about it.
Relationships: Hasumi Keito & Kiryuu Kurou, Hasumi Keito & Tenshouin Eichi (mentioned)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Tell me some things last

**Author's Note:**

> It was 4am. I was thinking about Keito. And Kuro. And death. Now it's 7am and I sit here with whatever this is. I've had this idea for quite a while now and I'm glad I finally wrote it out!  
> First time writing both Kuro and Keito, so I hope I did alright!  
> Enjoy!

It was roughly 2 am when Kuro was awoken from his sleep by a phone ringing somewhere in the room, followed by noises of someone scrambling around. Normally this should alarm him, but he quickly remembered the fact that the rest of Akatsuki was currently sleeping over at his place due to a job request that required more planning than usual.

The tune was unfamiliar to Kuro, but he figured it would have to be coming from Keito's phone since Souma hadn't brought his along, claiming he didn't need it because he pretty much only used it for Akatsuki related manners and the three of them were together.

Kuro's assumption proved to be right when he cracked an eye open just before the door was closed as quickly as it had been opened, the space where Keito had been sleeping now empty while Souma still rested peacefully.

Now that he was awake, he figured he could at least wait for Keito to return and maybe check in on whether the call had been important or not. When 15 minutes passed, however, and Akatsuki's leader still hadn't returned, Kuro began to worry. 2:23 am wasn't exactly a time where you'd usually get wrapped up in long phone calls, which meant the situation had to be urgent. 

Well, he wouldn't find out by laying in bed and making up scenarios, so instead Kuro got out of bed as quietly as possible before stepping out of the room. Due to previous habits of staying out until dark during his delinquent days, Kuro had become an expert at traversing the way from the front door to his room without making a single sound, carefully avoiding any floorboard he know would creak under his weight until he made it to the door that was slightly ajar. He listened for a moment, though there was no sound on the other side of the door, so eventually, he stepped outside into the night slowly, the air fresh but not uncomfortably so.

Keito sat mere feet away on the stairs, back turned towards him, staring out at the sky but clearly no longer engaging in any sort of call, lost in thoughts to the point he didn't even notice Kuro until the taller stepped out further and sat down beside him.

"Ah, Kiryu...Did I wake you? I apologize," Keito said, relaxing ever so slightly as he looked at the familiar face of his friend, then back onto the road in front of them. 

"Nah, 's fine," Kuro assured him, studying his expression for a minute. "Did something happen? You've got that look on your face you always get when somethin' goes wrong."

Keito sighed at that, lowering his gaze to the hands in his lap, fumbling with the hem of his shirt. "I got a call from Eichi. He's been hospitalized. Again."

Well, that certainly explained a lot. "Shit..." Kuro started, somewhat unsure of what to say. Eichi was never an easy topic within Akatsuki for many reasons. "Is it bad?"

"Eichi says he's fine, but he always says that...He could very well be on his deathbed and still claim he's fine."

Kuro merely hummed as a response. Silence fell upon them for a while, neither of them quite certain of what to say and not particularly feeling the need to do so either considering the quiet wasn't awkward.

"No matter how often this happens, I just can't get used to it," Keito confesses eventually, running a hand over his face like that would wash away the exhaustion and worry nagging at him. "You'd think after so many years, I'd come to terms with it and accept what fate has planned, but instead I still...get like this every time."

Kuro looks up for a moment, a few stars catching his gaze even with the clouds breezing through the dark. "I don't think lookin' in the face of death is something ya ever really come to terms with. Plus, you're a worrywart, so I ain't surprised." He hoped the second part of what he said would distract from the first, honest feelings buried under a more light-hearted tease before they could find ground on the surface.

"I'm scared of the day I get a call from someone telling me he's dead." 

"I know."

"All these years I've had to prepare, god, even his funeral he has planned out with me to its fullest, but instead I just get more and more afraid as time goes on. I met a small boy fated to die young and somehow got so attached that the thought of losing him now sounds like losing myself. How foolish of me, wasn't it?" Keito laughs, but there is no humor in it. It sounds hollow.

If Kuro was anyone else, he'd probably spew words of hope and tell Keito that maybe Eichi wasn't going to die young after all, that his fate wasn't yet set in stone and that maybe they'd be lucky. He might have told him that miracles happen and he might have told him that, with how hard Eichi fought tooth and nail to live much like people like Keito fought tooth and nail to protect Eichi, maybe, just _maybe_ , Eichi would live a long and fulfilling life and that Keito would have worried for nothing.

But Kuro was Kuro, so he didn't say any of that. Because he knew what it was like to hear those words. He had heard them himself and then they had gotten his hopes up ever so slightly. But a miracle did not happen and instead came the inevitable that crushed all his hopes in a single day. He'd wish that Keito wouldn't have to experience the same thing, but there was little he could do, awfully aware that death didn't much care for hopes or prayers.

"I'm sorry, Kiryu," Keito spoke up once more, pulling Kuro out of his thoughts. 

"What for?" the older asked in confusion. Keito did this a lot, randomly apologizing for something that had no relation to anything. Kuro never liked that part of him because he didn't want Keito to feel in debt to Kuro.

"Everything...? For waking you up in the middle of the night and keeping you awake even though we have a long day ahead, and all that just because of Eichi. It's always because of him, isn't it? That I end up burdening you."

Now it was Kuro's turn to sigh with an eye-roll, shooting the other male a look of dissatisfaction. "We've been through this, Danna. You gotta stop apologizing for this shit all the damn time. I told ya it's not botherin' me 'n that I'm not mad."

"But why are you not mad!" Keito suddenly raised his voice, not yet loud enough to disturb anyone sleeping in the apartment behind them, but uncharacteristically enough for Kuro to be caught by surprise. "If you aren't willing to be mad at me, then why not Eichi? He crushed so many people, including your childhood friend!"

"Hasumi," Kuro retorted immediately in an alarming voice, "don't bring Itsuki into this. He has nothing to do with this. It's true that I don't agree with a lot of the shit Tenshouin has done, but I know _you_ and I trust your judgment. If you see somethin' in him that's worth havin' as a friend, then I will believe in that and support ya." 

Again Keito laughed and Kuro was starting to wonder if the other had gotten sick with how weird he was behaving. "You're too loyal, have I ever told you that? Nothing of what I've done since we met should have made you trust my judgment of all things."

"Well, too bad, 'cus it has and you gotta live with that now."

Keito merely shook his head. "Why can't you just be mad at me for acting so foolishly all this time...?" he asked after a pause, voice small and desperate, still unable to understand just what it was that made Kuro - and Souma, for that matter - remain a part of Akatsuki under Keito's lead.

"Because I know what it's like when you'd do anything to save someone dear to you who's dying," Kuro admits truthfully after a while. "You did what you did 'cus you wanted to save your sickly friend...or at least help achieve his dreams before it's too late." The tone in his voice was soft again, and there was a bitter smile barely visible on Kuro's face.

"I would have done anything to help my ma. I get it. That's why I can't be mad at ya."

That's right, Keito had to remind himself. Kuro knew all too well what kind of situation Keito was in. He had lived it, too, with the exception that Kuro was already years ahead in his experience of dealing with grief. Keito wanted to apologize again, this time for making Kuro dig up such memories of his that surely weren't easy to recall, but he had a feeling Kuro would just groan in annoyance and tell Keito to shut up and stop apologizing yet again, so he didn't.

Instead, "Thank you for sticking with me."

"Don't mention it," Kuro waved a hand dismissively, then turned to look at Keito with a genuine smile. "After all, you saved me quite some too without even tryin'."

"Well, I would hope I'd be able to return the favor ever so slightly." Keito smiled back, a good part of his worries replaced by a warmth that bloomed knowing someone like Kuro was there to support him. Like this, Keito thought, no hardship could be too big for him to handle.

"Now," Kuro announces, suddenly jumping up from his seat and reaching a hand out to the younger. "C'mon, get up. You should go visit Tenshouin."

"W-what?" Keito furrowed his brows, yet still accepted the hand stretched out to him to let Kuro pull him into a standing position. "Like, right now? It's in the middle of the night!" 

"So what! The boy gets special treatment, doesn't he? I'm sure no one will complain if ya show up now and he'll definitely appreciate it if someone pays him a visit."

"But we have work to do later...!" 

"Stop talkin' yourself out of it! I can drive ya over real quick, that'll save time already. Don't act like we haven't gotten our work done even with a lack of sleep and self-care before," Kuro grinned, then quickly retreated into the apartment and leaving Keito outside alone.

It didn't take long for him to return, now armed with their jackets, shoes and two helmets befitting Kuro's motorcycle. He pushed half of the contents into Keito's arm before putting his own clothing on. Reluctantly, Keito followed suit. Kuro could be entirely too stubborn at times if he wanted to and this seemed like one of those times.

"Why are you so insistent that I visit him right now, anyway?" Keito asked, zipping his jacket close before adjusting the helmet on his head.

Kuro's expression turned into an intense one fast, causing a chill to run down Keito's spine. "Cus, theoretically speaking, if Tenshouin really was on his deathbed right now and you weren't there in his last moments, you'd regret that for the rest of your life. You don't need to carry any more guilt than you already do."

Before he could react, Kuro grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along, the serious expression gone as fast as it appeared as he looked back at Keito with another grin. "Plus, as I said, it'll be a nice surprise for him either way. I bet ya he doesn't expect you to kick the door to his room down in the middle of the night."

"I will not kick the door down," Keito clarified, shaking his head. "How incorrigible."

Kuro just laughed at the response. It was a nice sound. Keito wanted to hear more of it. He smiled to himself, if Kuro really chose to stay with him, Keito might just be able to hear it more.

"Wait!" Realization hit Keito once the two were settled on the bike, Keito pressed against Kuro's back. "What about Kanzaki?!"

Kuro let out an amused snort, "Don't worry, Danna. He's sleepin' like a baby 'n we'll probably be back before morning. He doesn't even have to find out about our nightly detour." 

"If you say so..." Keito muttered, still slightly unconvinced about leaving Kanzaki alone but realistically knowing that likely nothing would happen while they were gone, much like Kuro tried to assure him.

"You ready?" Kuro asked with a look over his shoulder, to which Keito wrapped his arms around Kuro's waist to hold onto and nodded. "Yeah."

Seconds later the engine roared. "Off we go then~!" the redhead exclaimed as if they were on their way to an exciting adventure rather than the hospital. Keito didn't mind the enthusiasm, it made the entire situation feel less grim. Keito relaxed, leaning against Kuro.

He didn't think he would ever stop worrying about Eichi, fully aware that much harder times still possibly awaited him, but knowing he would have someone as amazing as Kuro by his side when the time came somehow made the thought of that much less scary. 

Keito was grateful, truly, for Kuro and Souma were his saving grace.

**Author's Note:**

> Pls cry with me over kurokei or keiei or whatever my instagram is @madakvro


End file.
